I did something I rarely do this week: I watched a Nintendo Direct. To be honest, I have a weird relationship with the Big N's pre-recorded events: I've watched the E3 ones before and I've always felt that, for everything they gain in pacing and structure, they lack the kind of energy that you can only get with a live audience. But on a random Wednesday afternoon in April, I found a new appreciation for the format.

The complaint I've always unfairly levelled at Nintendo Directs is that they're preaching to the choir, but I guess I've finally realised that's kinda the point. And in doing so I've finally wrapped my head around them, I suppose: I still prefer the more traditional press conferences for big conventions – especially now that platform holders seem to have figured out how to get to the point – but I like the sense of community that the streams create.

Let's be brutally honest here, there was nothing mind-blowing in this week's Nintendo Direct, but it was a great drip-feed of information for fans. The stream touched on everything from new games and release dates to Amiibo and peripherals. It offered a snapshot of Nintendo's coming quarter with a fan-heavy focus, and while the contents were unlikely to entertain the masses, the information was lapped up by the 100,000 concurrents on the channel that I was watching.

And I actually think that's pretty cool. The thing I liked about it was that it brought the hardest of the hardcore Nintendo fans together for 30 minutes of trailers and teases; the news came thick and fast, and it understood its audience. And it got me thinking: why doesn't PlayStation do something similar? If you look at the last couple of weeks, for example, it's dated both Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and WipEout Omega Collection – reveals which wouldn't feel out of place in a Nintendo Direct-esque stream.

I've really been thinking about it for the past 24 hours or so, and I guess I realised that the PlayStation Blog serves much the same purpose as a Nintendo Direct, just in a different way. I mean, the website's targeted pretty much directly at fans, and acts as an official forum for Sony to communicate information with its most engaged userbase, as well as a venue for third-parties to promote their upcoming games. That's pretty much what a Nintendo Direct is, right?

Now, don't get me wrong, I love the PlayStation Blog and don't want to see it go anywhere – but I wonder if there would be a little more pomp around some announcements if they were delivered via a pre-recorded livestream like a Nintendo Direct. There's no reason the information can't immediately be expanded upon on the PlayStation Blog once the stream's over, but I'm really enamoured by this idea of the community coming together for one big infomercial.

Many won't remember, but I do vaguely recall reporting on something exactly like this when the PlayStation Vita was new: it was a Japanese stream named Vita Heaven or something like that. The feedback wasn't very good so Sony never revisited the idea, but I do think it would be cool if it had another attempt; it'd be really nice to see the Japanese giant pull the community together to drop some trailers and release dates as part of one well-presented, pre-recorded stream.

And hey, I have to hold my hands up: it'd be good for traffic, too.

Would you watch a hypothetical PlayStation Direct? Are you a fan of the Nintendo Direct format, or do you think there are better ways to get information out? Grumble about how Sony always copies everything in the comments section below.

I love Directs. A complaint I always have from Sony's conferences is that since they have to cram so many games because they are yearly they tend to drag on because they are overlong. They have been improving in this regard, though.

This one was very to the point too, as Nintendo's are playful and goofy. I don´t see Sony doing this beyond Layden trolling Sammy with the shirt on that pic.

Still, when I browsed the two remaining sites this morning, I started with NL (as usual) and then I thought I should have started the other way around, as Sony Land would be boring in comparison.

Sony is no stranger to "borrowing" ideas but these are harder to do since they tend to rely more on third party games, so having to coordinate with so many devs may make them harder.

Apart from the occasional super exciting secret reveal, the best thing about the Nintendo Directs is that they quickly remind me about all the upcoming games that I may have forgotten. Given that the PS4 tends to have more games than the Switch/3DS, I think PlayStation style directs can only be a good thing in that regard.

The direct's tend to be pretty goofy - which is in keeping with Nintendo's corporate image - but Sony could easily pull off a different tone I think.

While I can see what you mean but it's up to Sony to actually come up with something that's different rather then copying Nintendo. Besides isn't just putting out a press release as well as a trailer on Youtube having the same effect anyway? If Sony did something like that, I think PlayStation Access are the people to do it in a sort of magazine format but personally I think Sony should leave it for the conferences cos they have more impact.

@sinalefa 'because they are yearly they tend to drag on because they are overlong.'

I beg to differ on that. The conferences I'm looking forward to this year, just like last year are E3 and PSX. They are half a year apart and enable to Sony to pick their best games and they are really exciting and create a huge buzz, I can't fault the last 4 E3 and PSX conferences at all. Nintendo directs, although useful aren't even on the same level hype wise.

There is a reason I think Sony couldnt do this though. And its not legalities.

They have conferences. For. Everything. They have built the image of pomp and grandure and thats how they are perceived.

They, unfortunately, have very little style to make this kind of thing work. Even when they attempt a half hour info dump it becomes sleep inducing.

They lack the level of charm to do smaller, thoroughly planned entertaining videos while dropping info.

Its not a negative thing because what they do now works. I think Sony lacks that finer touch. They keep engagment through being heavy handed and sticking their chest out and being the loudest. Its all about putting on a show for them. Its what works.

Again, its not a negative thing, but I do feel that Sony couldnt do this. Its not their style.

Leave the snappy, entertaining videos and info dumps for those who dont walk one man onto a stage to show a trailer to the sound of an orchestra like hes the second coming of Christ.

@get2sammyb Did you watch over on NL? The chat is always lively and TW and Ant are always quick with a joke. Sometimes the chat is better than the ND but yesterday was pretty good.

I'm less of a fan now than I used to be. It was Iwatas and I think it should have ended with him. But besides that, it used to be fairly regular the first couple of years, but waiting for them lately has been agonizing. They are so irregular, and Nintendo only gives us 2 or 3 days notice, so it's not ideal. I'd much prefer a blog that's updated all the time. Nintendo has an official news page but it only gets select news items maybe once a day.

So, if Sony wants to do a PS Update, that's fine, but I'd like to see it a little more regularly scheduled. Maybe at PSX in December say, "Starting next year, quarterly video montage updates." Of course the last time I saw a company make that announcement for a series of video updates was the first Disney Infinity update video, and then they killed the game.

@BLP_Software Sammy saying something nice about Nintendo doesn't strike me as too odd, considering the whole sister site affiliation and all. If you ever see him post a compliment about Xbox, (not Microsoft) that's when you know his account got hacked!

They already have the right man for the job in terms of hosting an event like this in their back pocket, might as well get some mileage out of it, right? I can already see it:

Ive always wondered why Sony never do an official Monthly / Bi Monthly show, I mean they have the platform, plop it out through PS Access or whatever its called, do some news, a bit of a chat with various Sony peeps, a wee feature, show some games, some previews and have a little competition, Doesnt have to be long 30 mins / 45 mins

I am not a huge fan of the E3 style format of having to make a song and dance of upcoming releases. I find that the pressure to make big announcements push Sony to reveal prematurely. I would like announcements spread throughout the year in Nintendo Direct at a point when the games are mature and it blows our minds. I believe Fallout 4 sold well because the announcement was handled just right. It is coming, it will be in your hands within 6 months was just great.

It is clear that most big publishers/companies want to move away from E3 in the same way that a lot of big movie companies are starting to move away from Comic Con in favour of controlling their own announcements.

I thought that last Direct was pretty terrible compared to how the things used to be (gotta agree with @rjejr there, the best thing about the Directs really was Iwata because he always delivered on-point) but, and don't get me wrong, I think that kind of format would suit Sony a lot more outside of that Splatoon bit. It was fast-paced and got to the point, which made it kinda drag because a lot of the stuff seemed like lower-budget fluff to me, but Sony have enough bigger releases or I guess the right kind of releases that'd suit that style more. They don't need the quirky skits and it would feel out of place anyway like @BLPs said. Just have an half hour of rapid fire announcements/reminders with a few bigger sections thrown in between and call it a day. Done.

You get all the buildup and excitement Nintendo fans get (and I have to admit that I'm rarely excited for Directs but they tend to grab me once I watch the actual things) but Sony don't risk coming off as too "out of character" because they have the presenter dress up as Kratos and Crash.

I'd watch a "Sony Direct", sure. As a fan I always enjoyed the Nintendo ones, until recently, but I don't think they're nearly as effective marketing tools compared to traditional forms as many people assume. They are definitely not a replacement for the big pressers in terms of hype or people reached, but they could supplement them throughout the year. Obviously Sony's audience is significantly larger than Nintendo's but I'm not sure there's anything there that can't be covered through Twitter and YouTube or the PlayStation blog. One benefit is that they have have so many games to cover, that it would give "smaller" or less-hyped titles some exposure - be they indie titles or their Japanese third-party exclusives. With Nintendo, you kinda get the impression they're showing everything they have. Maybe Sony could start a semi-regular Youtube show?

Maybe I'm an old stickler, but I do prefer the bigger press conferences. But I actually think Sony has started doing something of their own by introducing PSX. They've started a precedent for E3 and PSX both bringing exciting announcements so I think they're already doing their own take on spreading things out.

I do like Nintendo Directs for some things. They can put a lot of personality into the videos and put it out there instantly. But it also has its drawbacks. You can risk spreading yourself too thin when detailing announcements, and sometimes the comedy aspect can override the announcements. With the E3 Direct in 2015, the comedy stuff surrounding it was better than the actual announcements.

To be honest I hope they keep the E3 and PSX conferences. Maybe one in the Spring would be good, but I can't help but always look forward to the big build up to larger conferences. And with last year's PSX, and the last two E3 conferences, Sony have knocked it out the park.

And yeah, I love directs, it's like a fast food, nothing too impressive or complex but sometimes is all you need to be satisfied!And if this direct keep the minor games away from a big/massive E3 presentation it's a win win.

To be clear, I wasn't suggesting in the article that a hypothetical PlayStation Direct should replace the traditional press conferences; they could just be an extra thing a couple of times a year when there's no presser nearby.

why not? i love video items and sony played really bad on this item i think they just use it when they want to talk about ps plus but that is not a serious good edited thing ! any way its good to see some one finally said this problem thanks sammy
even kojima has his own video program why sony dosent have it as a big company ?! they really need it!!

Had a quick look at the ND video but I would not want anything like this for Sony. The crowd reactions from the announcements for FF7 and Last of Us 2 is priceless and is something to be enjoyed.The ND thing seems a bit corporate and sterile for me.

Sony's fine doing what its doing, companies don't always have to ape successful ideas from eachother. There are several PlayStation press conferences per year, including two gigantic ones in the middle and at the end, and the PS Blog is a very good source for news.

@get2sammyb While it's off topic, if you feel Sony need to take inspiration from other companies then how about Square Enix with their Collective? Sony can then open the door to any studio that wants to bring back any of Sony's dormant IPs, providing that they get the funding through kickstarter and in return Sony help on marketing with actually funding the game themselves.